Meredith student's artwork helps save loons

MEREDITH — Tristan MacDonald, a junior at New Hampton School, plans to become a mechanical engineer. And when he turned his talents to art earlier this school year, he brought an engineer’s sense of purpose.

When he produced a print of a loon, MacDonald decided to use his creation as a form of activism. He has donated 10 copies of the print to the Loon Preservation Society in Moultonborough, a gift worth more than $1,000.

MacDonald grew up in the Chemung area of Meredith in a family where animals, domestic and livestock handily outnumber humans, and where developed property dissolves into forest. It’s no surprise, then, that he is drawn to the White Mountains artists of the early 19th Century, and to the English painter of the same era, J. M. W. Turner, who sought to portray the majesty of nature, especially in relation to man.

“Since it’s stuff I see every day, I paint it,” MacDonald said. His work reflects an understanding of the tiny dramas unfolding in a seemingly serene landscape. One of his paintings is a tribute to the power of trees. It shows a birch tree that split a boulder, at the base of which is a tuft of grass. Nearly hidden in the grass is a brown field mouse, and on a patch of snow nearby, the shadow of a hawk.

This school year is the first time that MacDonald has taken art seriously, he said, though he has been around artwork his whole life. His grandfather, Loran Percy, was a painter by profession. MacDonald’s mother, Susan, helps run the family farm and veterinary practice, and is also an amateur painter.

In his art class at New Hampton School, MacDonald tapped into that genetic predisposition and his respect for the natural world. When his teacher charged him with making a print, he created a deceivingly complex print of a loon, sitting atop the water, its wings outstretched and its back arched.

“It was an interesting project. I think I had more fun than the rest of my class did,” MacDonald said. But he didn’t make it easy on himself. He chose an oval shape for his print, which was challenging to get symmetrical. He chose to use two colors, which meant that each print required two different printings – one for each color. He also employed the intaglio technique, which is more involved than the more common relief printing.

And, as he created, he started thinking about his subject. “I did some research into loons, learned about how lead and mercury affect the loons,” he said. Prints are often used for political and social purposes, so he followed in that tradition and decided to donate 10 prints to the Loon Preservation Society. Three of the prints are framed and valued at $150 each, the remaining seven are matted and worth $85 each.

Lin O’Bara, development coordinator at the Loon Preservation Society, said the monitoring, rescue and advocacy organization has received donations of photographs and artwork before, but never on a scale such as what MacDonald offered.

“They’re just gorgeous,” O’Bara said of MacDonald’s prints. “This was something that he evidently thought about for quite a while. (He) did a fantastic job. It’s not just a picture of the loon, it’s a picture of the struggle of the loons.”

The Loon Society is selling some of the prints in its gift shop, but a few will be reserved as prizes for a membership drive in May – MacDonald’s work will generate revenue as well as members for the organization.

“We sincerely appreciate it, all the benefits from it, the new memberships, the profits we get from it, will all go to our program that will help do everything from floating nesting mats, monitoring, providing summer staff that monitor and rescue chicks,” O’Bara said. “He’s a great spokesperson through the stories he tells with his pictures.”